Customer Reviews

Artemis (Kydd 2)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As many of the other reviewers here, I am an avid fan of the nautical fiction genre; and, have read CS Forrester, Patrick OBrian, and many others, cover-to-cover. As such, I was excited to find 'Kydd' and 'Artemis' and a new series by a promising new author.

I enjoyed 'Kydd' just a little more than 'Artemis,' but liked both. The story lines are fun and engaging. The characters are decently drawn (although I am starting to find Renzi just a bit too implausible and contrived). The attention to detail is very high. And certainly, the twist of reading these stories from the point of view of a pressed man before the mast (as opposed to the usual point of view of an officer's) is educational. Although Stockwin isn't really breaking totally new ground here (I'd say Bernard Cornwell provided an ample path here with his 'Sharpe' novels), it's mostly a new wrinkle for those of us addicted to Aubrey/Maturin.

So, where does Stockwin fit in to the panoply of napoleonic-era historical fiction authors? I'd say mid-pack. The quality of writing is average. The character development is average. I'd put him in there with James Nelson and Dudley Pope; and even with Bernard Cornwell for that matter. Fun quick reads. Good stories with rousing action and interesting subject matter. But it's really not great literature.

In my opinion, Stockwin has a long way to go before he jumps up to the next tier in terms of writing ability. There's none of the magic, flowing prose of Patrick OBrian, nor any of the incredible mix of character, wit, and eloquence. There is a good story line and mostly decend prose. Like James Nelson, he gets a bit melodramatic at times. There's just a bit too much of the '...heart beating in his manly chest...' nonsense.

He also falls into one little trap that I find particularly annoying. Every page or so, he slips in the use of some overtly 'big' words. It feels like he's trying to impress us with his vocabulary:

"... he drew out a peculiar short coil of a black flexible substance, chased in leather at one end, and the other terminating in a knobby excrescence."

I'm not sure what an 'excrescence' is, but I feel that a more gifted writer would have found a more economical and effective way of describing a knotted leather whip. To my ears, this kind of thing just falls flat. There are many little examples of this throughout the two books. Do they ruin the stories? No. Do they make you wince a little bit as you're reading? Probably.

If you are looking for the 'topmast' of nautical fiction, look to OBrian, Marryat, Conrad. If you're looking for engaging adventures on the high seas and a fast easy read, definitely grab these new Stockwin novels. I recommend them despite their few faults. I hope new ones will keep coming and that the author grows as a writer.

For those who admire O'Brian, Stockwin's books may not appeal. For those who find O'Brian unnecessarily long-winded and overwhelmingly pretentious, give Stockwin's books a try (start with 'Kydd,' the first in the series). Stockwin has taken the unusual tack of starting his series with a non-sailor, a pressed man, and has introduced both him and the reader to late 18th century shipboard life. This isn't Hornblower or --thank God! -- Aubrey, Kydd is an altogether original character. We learn as he learns, we see storms, battles, maneuvers, all of it through his eyes and from his position on board a frigate. This is very different from seeing things only through the eyes of the captain, which is what is presented in most nautical fiction. Kydd will most likely rise in rank as the series progresses, but the reader gets to make that most enjoyable journey with him.

I note that other critics have taken issue with Stockwin's actual writing skill. I have no problem with the man's craft or talent. In fact I have yet to read a fictional account of rounding the Horn that was as descriptive, passionate, frightening and inspiring as Stockwin's account in 'Artemis.' I enjoyed this book a great deal, and regret only that I have to wait another year for book 3 in the series.

Like many other reviewers here, I have read most of the historical naval fiction repetoire. I'm an avid fan of O'Brian's. I found this book, as well as its predecessor, "Kydd" to be a nice summer read, but ultimately unfulfilling.

I'm guessing that most of the people reading this genre would consider themselves sticklers for historical detail and accuracy. I found several things in Stockwin's writing that I don't believe to be particularly accurate. One such example is a reference to the use of a chronometer by one of the ship's officers. While Capt. Cook did in fact test early chronometers prior to the time-frame of these novels, they did not become standard issue aboard British warships until the mid to late nineteenth century. It's highly unlikely that there would have been one aboard in 1793. Another example of inaccuracy is the reference to the sailor's uniforms (striped shirts, trousers, and even deck shoes!) Again, uniforms for common sailors did not become standard issue until long after the Napoleonic wars were over.

While these things are small sticking points, I took greater offense at the lack of character development in the main protagonists. Kydd seems inconsistent to me. He is at once sensitive, boorish, macho, and moody. I felt that Renzi was Stockwin's (less successful) attempt at recreating O'Brian's enigmatic Stephen Maturin. I also felt that it stretches the limits of credibility that in the course of this one novel, so many events befall the the ship and crew. I suppose it's POSSIBLE, but is it likely?

In the end, I will probably read the next installment when it becomes available, in the hope that Stockwin's style, plot and characters improve with practice. I'm excited about the premise of a lowly deck-hand rising through the ranks of service to some as yet unknown future.

Julian Stockwin continues the saga of Thomas Paine Kydd, a wigmaker pressed into naval duty. As befits a second novel, the author tries for something a little more grand and epic, and here lies the downfall. I still recommend it, but I cannot say that I felt the same powerful impact as the first story. I simply enjoyed hearing more about my favorite characters and meeting new ones.

Stockwin's first novel was written with very short chapters, each one a kind of short story with intense conflicts and climaxes. This novel has much longer chapters, so there are several plotlines and themes throughout each one. Some, like the deserting soldiers who become sailors under Kydd's tutalege, are brought up but never given closure. We never know what happens to these soldiers once they are accepted on board. This is just one of many instances where I had questions that were never answered.

I won't give away the ending, but I must say it was unsatisfying to the extreme.

I'm afraid I'd give away too much of the plot if I were to critique it further, so I'll end here. If you enjoyed the characters of Kydd and Renzi, then by all means keep up with them, but don't expect the power of the first book.

I hope by the third book the author will have learned his craft and can handle this new storytelling style, if he keeps at it, or goes back to his first style, which was remarkably well done. I almost gave this only 3 stars, but compared to most books, the details and drama still just barely warrant a 4.

Having enjoyed the first novel, Kydd, where a youngster learns square-rigged sailing from the bottom, I had hoped this might develop into a great new series. I feel this sequel is instead pitched at a young adult reader, for Kydd stays naive yet prescient. Stockwin writes of a voyage that covers a lot of territory and eventually goes around the world. What takes Patrick O'Brian 3 books to accomplish is done in one here, and only a few unexplained technical sailing terms show up. That will please readers looking more for action than ambiance or accuracy. The language is inconsistently hearty, antique, and salty. The story is necessarily episodic and superficial. It is also a tad pat and too easy for Kydd, who takes his first "step" (promotion) in the course of the voyage. While he is meant to be admirable it's a little hard to admire him because the psychology is simplistic, and he often runs out on people he is involved with. His friend Renzi, slumming among sailors as a penance, is far more principled. Stockwin includes an historical afterword, but it applies only to the very first episode in a long book, so perhaps we are to assume all the other incidents are fictional?

This is the sequel to KYDD, which told of a young wig-maker suddenly pressed ganged for duty aboard a British Navy ship during the Napoleonic Wars, who finds he has a deep love of the sea. Here, Kydd has been rated an able seaman and along with his friend and shipmate Renzi, leaves the ship-of-the-line, the Duke William, for the frigate Artemis under fighting Captain Black Jack Powlett. The action and adventure starts almost immediately and doesn't let up, through engaging the enemy at sea, nearly foundering on land when Kydd's sister comes to take him away from his new life at sea citing his obligation to his family, and more adventures in love, war and exploration and science that takes Kydd to the far reaches of the world.

I missed the wonder of the first book, as Kydd acquaints himself with the strange world aboard ship. Kydd is now accomplished enough, although he does continue to learn and progress. But the adventure and action comes so quickly and often that there is little time for thoughts or introspection. This is good for some readers, but not always ideal for others. While I preferred the first book, but I still was caught up in the adventure and the characters were engaging enough for me to wish to read more of their adventures.

Sensitive writing and deft plot handling continue the good work started in 'Kydd'. The pairing of down-to-earth Kydd with the intellectual Renzi reminds one of Aubrey and Maturin in the O'Brian series and the literary edge it gives to those books. On page 8 there is a neat piece of homage to Patrick O'Brian when, to Renzi's stunned amazement, the crew casually swig premier cru Haut Brion like it was common blackstrap.

After the humdrum life on 'Duke William', Kydd and his mates are transferred to the 32-gun frigate Artemis, where he immediately finds action in a bloody one-to-one battle with an adversary of similar size. On a high with excitement and adulation after the success, Kydd is brought sharply back to earth by his sister's news of their father's failing eyesight. Seeing his dreams crumbling around him, he returns home - gutted, and is slowly succumbing to apathy when Renzi appears, galvanizing him into action with a plan which promises to put all to rights.

Kydd is soon off to sea again on a secret mission, where a sensitively-written romantic interlude suddenly evolving into entrapment is handled by Kydd grasping it like a nettle. Renzi's reaction to this interlude leaves us wondering if his friendship with Kydd is all it seems on the surface, or are there suppressed desires beneath?

Kydd is roused from his introspection by promotion and an unexpected visit to the South Seas, where Renzi's sexuality is established, but his ideals of the 'noble savage' are dispelled in a horrific way. The voyage home is beset by problems, culminating in a real cliff-hanger - followed by a taster of the next book 'Seaflower', and, as we have come to expect in this genre, a historical note outlining the facts behind the fiction.

This is up there with the best. ****

Stockwin tries so hard to write a "good", literary historical novel. He gives his characters period intellectual interests and tries to give them period mentalities. He tries to go beyond shipboard life and portray the exotic bits of the late 18th century.

And he doesn't quite have the writing skill to pull it off. This is very much a sequel, so characters aren't really introduced; nor are they developed. The main character, Kydd, doesn't change or develop depth as the book progresses, although he experiences several events which might have affected him. Dialogue is often stilted, particularly when regarding intellectual topics. One sequence on land, involving a schoolhouse, is a clear case of the author having plotted himself into a corner and resorting to silliness to get himself out.

When Stockwin sticks to the sea, as with the Artemis' battles and the details of sailor life, the book is entertaining and informative -- though I'm STILL confused what quartermaster's mates (to which Kydd is promoted) do. It's unfortunate that the text often drifts onto lee shores despite Stockwin's frantic efforts, crashes, and heels over into a sinking anticlimax.

Very good reading. Can't wait for Julian Stockwin next book in the Kydd Sea Adventure series.

This is the second volume in the new series about Tom Kydd, a young wigmaker in 1793 who is pressed into the Royal Navy and who discovers in himself a natural instinct for the man-o-war sailor's life. Kydd and his particular friend, Nicholas Renzi (an educated man undergoing a self-imposed exile in expiation of his family's social guilt), move from their ship of the line to a much smaller (and much more desirable) frigate under a daring and highly respected captain. After an opening battle sequence, rousingly described and based on a real incident, the ship returns to England to popular acclaim. Kydd finds himself called home to help in the survival of his family but finds he can't bear the thought of spending the rest of his life on land. Things work out, though, and his sanity is saved, allowing him to return to the sea. The ship is sent to Calcutta to collect a special envoy, whom they then convey to Canton. Western vessels aren't allowed to hang about, so they adjourn to Macao -- where their vessel is essentially commandeered in the service of a scientific expedition to the South Seas for astronomical observations. Then it's around the Horn and they're headed back to England, . . . except that fever hits the crew and their officers, and everything quickly goes to pot. Along the way, Tom has an encounter with a young lady in Macao that tests his resolve to remain at sea, and Renzi attempts to apply his reading of Rousseau by remaining with the natives of a Polynesian island in a "state of Nature." Stockwin does a very good job with character development, describing the interactions among a collection of skilled seamen crammed together in a very small space for months at a time. And he has considerable skill in describing sea battles and the maritime life generally. I could wish he didn't compress his narrative so extremely -- but the reader discovers on the last page that this is, infact, only the first half of a longer story. In fact, as with the first volume in the series, my only real caveat is the unbelievable speed with which Kydd becomes a fully skilled man-o-warsman. From stumbling landman to foretopman is only six months? No way. Not even with his natural talent for the life. Three times that long actually at sea before he was rated would be more like it, plus another year or two before he could possibly qualify for the prestige of the tops. And then, very suddenly and equally unbelievably, he gets his step as a petty officer? At this rate of professional advancement, I expect Kydd to hoist his flag before another four volumes have passed.